Björk Guðmundsdóttir (bjɜːrk , pjœr̥k ˈkvʏðmʏntsˌtouhtɪr̥; born 21 November 1965) is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range, bold musical choices, and sometimes eccentric public persona, she has developed an eclectic musical style over a career spanning four-decades, drawing on electronic, pop, experimental, trip hop, classical, and avant-garde music.
Born and raised in Reykjavík, Björk began her music career at the age of 11 and gained international recognition as the lead singer of the alternative rock band the Sugarcubes by the age of 21. After the Sugarcubes disbanded in 1992, Björk began a solo career. She came to prominence with albums such as Debut (1993), Post (1995), and Homogenic (1997), collaborating with a range of artists and exploring a variety of multimedia projects. Her other albums include Vespertine (2001), Medúlla (2004), Volta (2007), Biophilia (2011), Vulnicura (2015), Utopia (2017) and Fossora (2022).
Several of Björk's albums have reached the top 20 on the US Billboard 200 chart. , she had sold more than 22 million records worldwide. Thirty-one of her singles have reached the top 40 on pop charts around the world, with 22 top 40 hits in the UK, including the top-10 singles "It's Oh So Quiet", "Army of Me", and "Hyperballad" and the top-20 singles "Play Dead", "Big Time Sensuality", and "Violently Happy". Her accolades and awards include the Order of the Falcon, five BRIT Awards, and 16 Grammy nominations. In 2015, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Rolling Stone named her the 60th-greatest singer and the 81st-greatest songwriter.
Björk starred in the 2000 Lars von Trier film Dancer in the Dark, for which she won the Best Actress Award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "I've Seen It All". Biophilia was marketed as an interactive app album with its own education program. Björk has also been an advocate for environmental causes in Iceland.